what are they doing here?

Theo's and Orion's intimate moment interrupted by beasts that looked like a bat but instead of wings it had legs like spiders. 3 of them. The smell of rotten meat filling the air. Orion and Theo watch wide eyed as the beast surround them at the lake.

"Shit what the fuck are they doing here?" Theo growled at the approaching beasts. "They shouldn't be this far north"

"What the fuck are those?" Orion swore

"Did you just curse?" Theo asked laughing with surprise.

"Did you seriously just ask that as we stand here surrounded by some overgrown bat bugs looking like the want to make us a late lunch?" Orion glared at him.

"You have a point" he said "you wouldn't happen to have any weapons hidden in those lacy bits of yours would you? I'm fresh out, left my sword up there with my shirt."

Orion shoots him a glare "are you seriously being funny right now?"

"You think I'm funny?"

"Oh my gods you're so incorrigible" Orion shouts with frustration.

"Behind the waterfall if swim deep enough you'll find a bow, and there's a sheath arrows stuck in the crack of the rock wall" Orion said pointing "over there, see that red in the wall, that's them."

"I knew there was a reason I liked you" Theo said

"Yeah the mark has a tendency to cause a bond and the bond tends to do that" she said rolling her eyes at him.

"You say it's the bond, I say it's your very interesting and unique personality" he said with a smirk

"There's something seriously wrong with you" she said.

Fear started to fill Orions thoughts.

The beasts had stopped at the edge of the water. Not entering but not leaving. Simply waiting.

Waiting for what?

Could they not go in the water?

Where did they come from?

What are they even?

How did they get past our defenses?

Theo then comes back up from under the waterfall bow in hand.

"Alright Orion you think you can do that shadow thing again?" Theo asked her.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure it'll work on them, I've never seen anything like them before are they even from this world?" Orion said

"They're from the darkness rising to the south, they come before the Rot. We call them Trenches Stalkers." Theo said "they aren't even the worst of what's coming from the Rot in the mountains."

"You mean there's worse than those things?" Orion asked, "what could be worse than that" she gestured toward the disgusting bat creature.

And then they shrieked again and started to run into the water.

Well guess they can come into the water.

Theo takes an arrow from the sheath he pulled from the wall and started to fire at the one in the center that seemed to be charging first.

Orion closes her eyes and focuses

"Come shadows, come to me, come from the darkest corners of the wood, come now, MY shadows I command you to do MY bidding." Orion was levitating rising from the water her body's aura was turning purple. When she opened her eyes they were glowing that bright violent shade of purple. From her fingers purple mist seem to fall over them. It seemed to stretch pulling shadows from under her in the water.

Theo firing arrow after arrow at the center one, it was faster charging at me. 6 arrows protruding from its body. And then he fired the 7th shot through the eye of the beast, tripping the beast, falling into the water. Black like oil spilled from its dead body spreading through the water. This enraged the other 2 beasts more. Theo firing another round at the beast closest to him on the right.

Orion having gathered her shadows "Shadows I command you to drag them. Drag their empty vessels down into the lakes deepest part." Orion commanded throwing both her hands up toward the monster heading to her on the left. Mist now falling in threads from her fingers and the shadows clinging to the mist, stretching. Dragging the creature down. She notices Theo is running out of arrows and so she throws her right hand towards him the shadows and mist split as her shadows. The mana draining from her body as the purple mist pools around her almost consuming her. The beasts screech loudly as the shadows pull them down, fighting to pull the shadows off results in the beast ripping off its own skin.

The lake that was once blue was turning black from the beasts blood and shadows swimming, with glows of purple weaving through the black

Theo now out of arrows watching as these beasts tear themselves apart piece by piece. Hes never seen anything do that before. Looking to his left he sees Orion floating, still half naked, glowing purple. She is so fucking sexy, watching her destroy these creatures without even touching them. She was dangerous and that turned him on.